Article

Lisa McEwen
Lisa McEwen 13 August 2018
Categories Ecommerce

5 Things E-Commerce Stores Can Optimize to Sell More Products

Sell more products online by using these five tips.

Online sales are soaring. Fueled by easy ordering, competitive pricing, and fast delivery, consumers are making purchases online at a breakneck pace. By 2021, global ecommerce sales are expected to reach $4.5 trillion, a 248% increase from 2014.

Given the demand in online shopping, it’s not surprising to learn that an estimated 1.3-million e-commerce companies exist in North America alone.

With so many online stores, how can you compete? To market an e-commerce store, you have to optimize your marketplace.

Essentially, you need to streamline the entire buying process. From your order forms to last mile delivery tracking, every aspect of the customer experience should be fluid.

More specifically, here are five things e-commerce stores can optimize to sell more products:

1.    Ordering process

When a customer visits your site, they likely browse around a bit. Just like customers would in a brick-and-mortar store, they roam around your digital racks and take a look at a few options.

Once they're ready to make a purchase, the customer will add the item to their online cart. This is where your e-commerce store has to shine. The customer expects a seamless checkout process.

Research shows 35% of customers will abandon their cart if they're forced to create an account, and another 27% will leave if they feel like the checkout process is too complicated, according to SmartInsights.

The takeaway here is to streamline the entire order process. Eliminate unnecessary steps and get the customer to the end of the process ASAP.

2.    Contact options

Customers want to know that their concerns and question can be answered immediately. Inside a store, a customer can ask an associate a question, but online, this kind of attention is often lacking.

Fifty-five percent of customers will walk away from their online purchase if they can't get an answer to a question.

Make sure your e-commerce store has contact information readily available. Sure, you can have a 'contact us' page, but that's not enough. Put your phone number on every page, or even better, add a live chat option so customers can get immediate assistance. Wine.com, for example, has a 'Chat with an Expert' window on its homepage so customers can talk with a wine specialist as they order.

Tools like LiveChat and Freshdesk provide easy solutions for e-commerce owners to implement.

3.    Imagery

If you're selling online, your images must be stunning. Sixty-seven percent of consumers say the quality of an image plays a vital role in their decision making process.

Remember, a lot of customers are tactile, meaning they like to touch and feel the item they buy. Since customers can't do that when they're buying online, your pictures have to close the gap.

More e-commerce sites are turning to 360-degree pictures so customers can get a better sense of a product's look and shape.

Killer descriptions go hand-in-hand with images. Be detailed and specific.

4.    Delivery

Optimizing your delivery method is also essential for online growth. E-commerce marketplaces like Amazon have set the bar high. Amazon customers can get their order in two days and track every step.

And now the online giant is partnering with entrepreneurs all over the world to streamline delivery even more.

Last mile delivery is the technical term used to describe the process it takes to get a package to a customer's doorstep. The last mile is often the toughest and most expensive part of delivery.

Of course, customers don't care how you get it to their home; they just want it there. Your store needs a streamlined last mile delivery tracking process in place that equates to a fast and affordable shipping option for customers.

Customers have zero tolerance for shipping headaches. Twenty-five percent of customers are unwilling to buy a product online because of inconvenient delivery options, and another 68% abandon a cart when they see just how expensive shipping costs are.

Tools like Shopxie can help with delivery logistics. Bringg is another option, which offers last mile delivery tracking. Use them to take the hassle out of delivery logistics.

5. Feedback

After making a purchase, do you follow up with customers? If you're not collecting feedback, you'll never know how to improve.

Whether you ask customers a one-question survey immediately following their purchase or email a longer survey to a customer about a product's quality, collecting feedback shouldn't be overlooked.

There are plenty of feedback-collecting tools available. SurveyMonkey, for example, allows you to create and send surveys, while a more advanced tool like OpinionLab can provide deeper insights.

Industry trends show online shopping will only grow. To thrive, e-commerce businesses must take steps to optimize their website. Get your ordering process in line, give customers a way to ask questions, use amazing images, offer the best delivery options with last mile delivery tracking, and make sure you know what your customers think of your store by collecting feedback on a regular basis.

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